I under went surgury in Nov. 2000 to dethether my spinal cord from the wall of my spine. I am 26 years of age as of May 28, 2002. How they found I had a therethed cord was because I was having difficultly urinating and getting frequent UTI's.
So why I am writing. Because now since the surgery I have a lot of symptoms of Sciatic Nerve pain. But MRI's do not show that is the problem. Both my Neurologist and now a Orthopedic Spine specialist have both told me from 2 recent MRI's (with in 6 months of each other) that my spinal cord appears to still be tethered. After my Neurologist told me this I went and saw the Neurosurgeon again. He looked at the MRI's and told me that the cord appears that way but he knows he dethered the cord.
What I would like to know is......
Can this be possible?? Can a dethethered cord become reattached????
Could it have been tethered in 2 places?????
The MRI reads as:
The tip of the conus medullaris lies posterior to the L3-4 disc space. Individual nerve roots extend from the L4 to L5 level, after which a thickened filum extends caudad, through the distal thecal sac. The appearance since the prior examination. Dysraphic changes are identified posteriorly, as well as postsurgival changes. There has been partial resection of the intracanalicula lipoma. Several small foci of fatty signal within the canal persist, consistent with a small residual amount of fat.
There is no obvious compression of the spinal cord or exiting never root.
So do I get a second opinion now that the surgery has already been done? Do I go back to him a third time??
The pain is getting worse and is so unbearable. I now have to self-cath every 4 - 6 hours. I have a hard time making it through the day with out having to complain of the sharp pain in my right buttock that then shoots down my leg to my foot. My feet go numb. I hurt. It is hard. I am young. Is there hope?
I have the surgical reports as well. But don't want to type more info than needed to answer my questions.
Thanks for any help.

deb33647

10-13-2002 08:20 AM

Re: Thethered Spinal Cord in ADULT

Laurie,
I am so sorry to see that you have a spinal cord lipoma. My husband has one also in the L1-L5 area of the spine. I really don't know how to tell you this but I guess it's better to be honest than you lead you on.

Nothing has helped my husband over the last 20 yrs. They have tried everything from infusion pumps, methadone, stimulators, etc yet nothing has eased the pain that he is in.

I cath Jack 8 times a day, I disembowel him every other day and give him all the care he needs. Yet he lives to this day with pain. No medication we have tried has eased the pain.

I hope you find someone who can help you because I have searched high and low with no one being able to help.

Deb

julieshrive

12-08-2012 10:12 PM

Re: Thethered Spinal Cord in ADULT

Don't know whether my problem is interconnected as concerns spina bifida occulta & chronic utis become temporarily acute with excrutiating pain & spacicity resolved by upping rotated medications , paramol & acupuncture. The worry is heart symptons kicking in & medicines may not resolve forever. For some I have heard botox is effective.I have also found TENS machine helpful.

WebDozer

12-09-2012 06:02 AM

Re: Thethered Spinal Cord in ADULT

Laurie, you might try repeating your post on the Back Problems board, as they deal more with lumbar issues, while this board has always put more emphasis on cervical. Good luck...